Wednesday, March 5, 2014

First Contact

"No plan survives first contact with the enemy." Helmuth Karl Bernhard Grafvon MoltkeSometimes, the best plan fails. In his book Field Command Sid Heal explains an important inevitable of police tactical planning - in the case of an armed adversary, the other side is often obsessed with foiling your mission, is actively seeking ways to prevail and will kill you if given the opportunity.

Yesterday in Phoenix (AZ) experienced, superbly-trained detectives from a fugitive-apprehension unit attempted to arrest a felon. There was a chase, a crash and a gun battle. Detective John Hobbs was hit, as was his partner. Detective Hobbs's wounds were grievous. Despite that he fought on, killing the suspect, a recently-released con wanted for an attempted murder. Later, he died of his injuries.There is nothing low-risk about arresting armed, desperate people. Men and women who volunteer for this job know that fact up front and yet.... Often, this job is highly sought after, extremely competitive and attracts the best, brightest and most capable officers an organization fields. Why?Putting violent people in prison saves innocent lives. Thank you for serving, Detective Hobbs.